Charges laid after cows beaten with pipe

Six charges have been laid after hidden camera footage showed a Northland farmer beating cows with a pipe and other implements. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has filed charges against one person after receiving the footage. The footage drew swift criticism from industry leaders, including Federated Farmers animal welfare spokesman Chris Lewis. A week after its release, the owners of the farm said a contract milker working on the property had been banned from working unsupervised around animals. While animal advocacy group’s welcomed the charges being filed they noted that MPI’s response had been too slow and that they failed to fully investigate the complaints against the farm when they were first reported to the Ministry.